Aim/background:
To foster cross-disciplinary exchange and to develop long-term
research agendas regarding the effects of traditional plant exploitation
practices on plant morphogenetics and biodiversity in Australia and New
Guinea.
Plant exploitation practices east of the Wallace line
are often represented by a dichotomy: agriculture/horticulture in New
Guinea and hunting and gathering in Australia; whereas a range of practices
of varying intensity were actually employed in both regions. These practices
will have differentially exerted selective pressure on plants, which will
have produced differential morphogenetic transformations in plants and
plant parts. At present, the effects of these practices on plants - and
resultant biodiversity - over the long term are poorly understood. Indeed,
researchers working on these types of question require greater cross-disciplinary
input to come to grips with what we already know before we can begin to
formulate over-arching research strategies.
Given the range of plant exploitation practices across New Guinea and
Australia from the distant past to the present, the region is ideally
suited to investigate the effects of different practices on plant phenotypes
and genotypes. What does this range of practices mean for our understanding
of the concept 'domestication', which in turn is often used as a basis
for interpreting 'agriculture'? If selective pressures (although variable)
are exerted on different plants and plant parts under most types of plant
exploitation, where do we draw the line to delineate 'domestication'?
We still do not understand the variable selective pressures exerted on
different plants and plant parts under one set of practices, i.e., consider
the different types of plants in a New Guinea garden and their degrees
of 'domestication', let alone between different types of plant exploitation
This project draws together a range of disciplines (agronomists,
archaeologists, ecologists, ethnobotanists, geneticists and palaeoecologists)
to compare the effects of plant exploitation practices on the genotypes
and phenotypes of specific plants used over the long term across New Guinea
and Australia. Groups of plants for comparison can be identified based
on major groupings such as:
- Production practices: ranging from intensive wetland horticulture
in the Highlands of New Guinea to extensive semi-arid foraging in the
Central Desert of Australia
- Cultivated form (in New Guinea): wild/domesticated
- Mode of plant reproduction: sexually/vegetatively reproduced
- Type of plant: root crop/grass seed, starchy staple/leafy vegetable,
tree/shrub/herb/etc.
Workshops will be conducted based on three sub-themes:
- understanding plant exploitation practices across New Guinea and
Australia
- understanding how plants have changed through time with regard to:
a) their general evolutionary trajectories; b) their biological characteristics,
c) the effects of environmental change, and d) the effects of different
plant exploitation practices upon them
- summarising existing knowledge on a range of staples and subsidiary
crops/plants in Australia and New Guinea and decide upon which to focus
with ARC Discovery/Linkage Grant proposals
Outcomes/Workshops (Year 1)
In line with the original proposal, the first workshop (Canberra Museum,
August 2006) focused on understanding plant exploitation practices across
New Guinea and Australia. The workshop was highly successful; most significant
researchers in the field were present, knowledge 'gaps' were identified
and new research frameworks and synergies were outlined.
Participants at the workshop (#ECRs):
Tom Jones, University of Canberra
Jane Joe, Dept for Env. & Heritage
Jerry Find#, University of Sydney
Paul Class, National Museum
Objectives met:
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